Male and female intact bunny’s not mating

[V]

Hey everyone,

I apologize ahead of time for the length of this but background information is necessary 🙂

 

Lola and Buggz my two Holland lop buns have been living with me and my boyfriend for 2.5 months now, they are from the same litter, brother and sister. They are both around 18 weeks old (4.5 months) and from what we have gathered are in their puberty stages.

We have booked both surgeries to have them desexxed for Jan 4 2022, and have now had them separated by cages (in the same room, with individual divided free roam area) for over a month now.

When either my boyfriend or I am home, we allow one bun out at a time to run free, play, come lay and get pets and spend time with us. They are both extremely affectionate bunny’s with drastically different personalities.

Yet to see any aggressive behaviour changes, and tempted to keep their bond strong (although yes I know baby bonds are not recognized as real bonds) we have on occasion, under strict surveillance allowed them to spend time together in front of the fire while my bf and I sit on the couch in the evening.

Not only do they show no aggression towards Eachother but, they are still extremely in love! Even after being seperated by cage for well over a month now (closer to 2 months) They instantly begin to groom one another until finally flopping side by side and cuddling in front of the fire.

we wouldn’t dare leave them alone together until desexing is complete but I’m curious now.
Did my Bf and I somehow get lucky to have 2 baby bunnies, of opposite sex (confirmed by the rabbit specialist at our vet) that have zero intention of mating? Is that possible?

Everyone knows of rabbits strong sexual urges but my 2 buns show no interest in it at all.
has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

any insight is much appreciated,
Thank you!

 

Vanessa, Lola & Buggz

[LBJ10]

Well… vets have been wrong before. But assuming you have one of each, I would say that it is unlikely they won’t attempt to mate at some point. The problem is that it can happen in literally seconds and it will be too late. Letting them play together is asking for trouble.

[Bam]

As LBJ says, it can happen in literally seconds. I know a dog-trainer who thought she’d be able to intervene if a male dog tried to mate with her female dog that was in heat. She wasn’t successful, and those were spaniel dogs, rabbits are even quicker.

I don’t think it’s possible that two rabbits of opposite sexes wouldn’t try to mate. There are a few congenital anomalies of the reproductive organs that can make mating more difficult or even unsuccessful, but it’s nothing I’d count on. We did have a member who had a cryptorchid bun that couldn’t be neutered and who was successfully bonded to a spayed female for several years, without a humping-problem, but I’d not bet on it happening very often.

Keeping them separate is very smart of you, and it will not just prevent them from making babies, it will also prevent them from getting into a bad fight once their hormones come on strong. Any bad fighting will lower the chances of the buns ever bonding properly once they are desexed.

[DanaNM]

It’s honestly possible and even likely they have mated already, it can happen in a flash (even through cage bars), and once it’s happened they won’t keep trying…. Females can get pregnant as early as 12 weeks. You can check to see if your male has “dropped” as well.

I would stop letting them interact during play time at all. By the time you would be able to intervene it would be too late. If they are kept side by side they won’t forget each other!

Not trying to be alarmist, just don’t want you to end up with an accidental litter (or take her in to be spayed and they find she’s pregnant).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[GlennTheLionhead]

Very cute floofs!

I agree with all of the above.

My thinking is it’s very possible they aren’t in full puberty mode yet. When I had mine through puberty at about 5 months they were showing the signs, circling, honking etc, I thought that was it, I was just waiting for them to grow enough to be desexed.

Then at 6/7 months they Reallllly hit puberty, it was very different and the behaviour became pretty intense peeing everywhere and destructive.

This actually happened with two of the rabbits I’ve had at different times as they weren’t litter mates and were a year apart in age.

Just my thoughts, I think its very rare for animals not to show the instinctive and natural behaviours we expect.

[Wick & Fable]

It is more likely that neither of them are at this point experiencing hormonal urges. Some rabbits experience it later — for example, my Wick did not display any hormonal urges until he was 8 months old. A baby bond (which is what they have) is considered a temporary bond expected to dissolve once at least one of them begins feeling the hormones more, which is often a whiplash to many owners because baby bonds can seem very legitimate and secure for the months they exist. Again, they might just still be too young at this point. Continue separation and assume the baby bond will eventually end.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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